Chad Brooks: Worship, Society and the inbreaking kingdom

August 20, 2007

Creative Thinking

I never really thought that I would get into creative thinking and productivity when I came to seminary. But it pretty much fell in my lap, and it has made my life easier. I guess it all started with my notebook fetish and how dis-organized I was before I worked at Wesley. These are a few things I have learned.

1. You have to keep a schedule.This was something that my mentor Scott Wright drilled into us as a staff. Meredith thought that I would be really againist it, but I was so excited to soak up everything from that year that I went into it full force. After several different attempts, I settled into the practice of keeping a notebook with me at all times, and that was what worked best for me. It allowed me to write everything down that I had to do, and to help me process through ideas. I use Moleskine, and you should too. I have around 10 of them right now that I have filled up with various things.

2. Getting Things Done.David Allen's work was a big help for me. When I learned about his process of having a mind dump I instantly was able to keep up with the idea's that I have for various things and actually start completing thought processes.

3. Write down everything you do.I am better at procrastinating than anyone out there. Trust me, if you challenge me to a competition in doing nothing I will win. When I started writing down everything I did in a day (thanks again Scott), I realized how much time I was wasting.

4. The practice of Sabbath.I am sure that you are wondering what Sabbath has to do with all of this, but I can explain it. Over the last few years I have been moving towards a more Jewish idea of Sabbath, meaning that I shut everything down for 24 hours once a week. Since I am working at a church again I may have to re-shift my day, but it is working for me so I may not.

If one is truly going to have a planned day of doing nothing, you have to have a Biblical view of work as well. This means not jacking around everyday whenever King of the Hill is on for 2 hours straight. Productivity lets me feel better about Sabbath. I know that I have worked good and hard all week on various things, and that makes for a better Sabbath. I am not worried about what I should be doing, because I know exactly where I am on the things I am working with.